Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Jayanti October 31
Celebrations of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s 141st birthday (National Unity Day). The Indian Consulate General in Birmingham commemorated the 141st birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) on October 31.
Vallabhbhai Patel, commonly known as Sardar Patel (Hindi: “Leader Patel”), was an Indian lawyer and statesman who was a key member of the INC throughout the struggle for Indian independence. His full name is Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel. He was born in Nadiad, Gujarat, on October 31, 1875, and died in Bombay on December 15, 1950. (now Mumbai). For the first three years after India’s declaration of independence in 1947, he served as deputy prime minister, minister of home affairs, minister of information, and minister of state.
Due to the influence of Mohandas K. Gandhi, Patel’s life trajectory changed in 1917. Gandhi’s satyagraha (policies of nonviolence) were something Patel followed as long as it helped the Indian cause against the British. However, he did not share Gandhi’s moral principles and he did not see Gandhi’s focus on their universal applicability to be relevant to India’s current political, economic, and social issues. Patel, however, altered his mannerisms and appearance after deciding to adhere to and support Gandhi. He left the Gujarat Club, dressed in peasant-style white clothing, and ate Indian food.
Patel was Ahmadabad’s first Indian municipal commissioner from 1917 to 1924 and the city’s elected municipal president from 1924 to 1928. Patel first gained notoriety in 1918 when he organized large-scale protests by peasants, farmers, and landowners in Kaira, Gujarat, against the Bombay government’s determination to collect the entire amount of annual revenue taxes despite crop failures brought on by heavy rains. Patel led the Bardoli landowners in their successful battle for higher taxes in 1928.
